faith in mankind

The other day, someone asked us how Austin is responding to Lance Armstrong’s drug admission.

I didn’t really know at the time, it was all very new and people seem to be shouting at the same time, making the voices difficult to distinguish. But I know how I wish we would respond.

I wish we would respond with faith in mankind.

Several decades of postmodern history, moral and ethical failure in our leaders, and the media’s revelation that people love a scandal have left us with some questions that are difficult to answer.

Does every David have a Bathsheeba? Has anything noble or noteworthy been accomplished without a moral or ethical shortcut? Can we trust anyone? 

My own mind stumbles through the darkness of mankind’s failure until a shining light of hope touches on the soil of my heart:

God has not lost faith in us.

Maybe everyone does have a Bathsheeba tucked away in the closet, but we also all have a Savior who defeated darkness.

I wish we would all press beyond the detailed shredding of Lance Armstrong’s life, and instead look at his choices and admit that we have all been tempted by the delicious praise of people and the lure of fame and victory.

Oh, that we would all fall on our knees, open up our the book of Proverbs, and beg God for wisdom and courage to walk the difficult road of discipleship.

Think of the power of remembering for ourselves and then teaching our children that it is never wrong to do the right thing, that what we sow we will most definitely reap, and that the last shall be first someday.

Can we be brave and let those children try and fail, and rely on the truth that God’s greatness dwells in them whether they succeed or fail? Can we tell them that failing nobly today means they rise in faith to try again tomorrow?

By God’s providence, we were born for this time, this place, this day. We have been called upon to fight the darkness of this era. If we allow the failures of people to erode our faith that good will triumph over evil, we lose more than we should be willing to sacrifice. 

God’s ability to regenerate us into holy, Christlike ambassadors of His glory makes it all possible. When we love God with our whole hearts, and love our neighbor as ourselves we can change the world.